


Helping Hand

by hubdub15



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: Drunk Tora, F/M, Implied/Referenced Sex, Reference of Miscarriage, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23952667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hubdub15/pseuds/hubdub15
Summary: For the Creative Writing Prompt: Character A has had too much to drink at a party, and Character B has (willingly or unwillingly) become their handler. I went for Quincey and Tora.This ties in with the AU I have for my collection of MPL one-shots under my user profile, and it will eventually be mentioned in there. You don't need to read those to understand this.
Relationships: Poppy/Tora
Comments: 13
Kudos: 100





	Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ THE TAGS. 
> 
> If you are uncomfortable with any of these topics, I would advise you either to not read this one-shot or skip the part between the two line breaks towards the end of the chapters.

This was _not_ how Quincey was planning on spending his Friday night.

He had been halfway through a date with a particularly handsome young sailor when his phone began ringing incessantly until Quincey couldn’t ignore it anymore. It was one of Tora’s men, telling him that Tora was almost passed out in Alice’s restaurant after doing what they guessed was his best attempt at drinking himself blind at a small party a few of them had set up. They had already tried to call Poppy on Tora’s phone, but she didn’t answer, so it was up to Quincey now. 

When Quincey arrived at Alice’s, it took three of them to carry him down the stairs to Quincey’s car with several breaks to restrain Tora when he would try to escape, which always ended with Tora either falling down or sitting deliberately to make it harder for them move him. He acted like a petulant child whenever he was this drunk, which was rare. He usually went to cigarettes or beating the shit out of something whenever he needed to let of steam. Something must be really bothering him.

“Why did you let him drink this much?” Quincey demanded once they had put Tora in the car, locking the doors so he couldn’t escape. “You know he can’t handle his alcohol.”

“I’m sorry, Young Master. He ordered us to stay outside. We didn’t know he had drunk so much until the old lady made us come in and get him.” His second-in-command explained. “We tried calling his wife a few times, but she wouldn’t pick up.”

“Fine.” Quincey pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll take him home. Just go and await further orders.” 

The drive back to Tora and Poppy’s apartment was silent. Tora had fallen asleep before Quincey even started the engine, and while he wanted to yell at him for ruining his night, it would better serve him if Tora were awake for his tirade, and preferably hung over. He tried calling and texting Poppy to let her know Tora was okay, but she ignored his calls and only read his messages without responding. If Poppy wasn’t responding, he _knew_ something was wrong. Did they have a fight?

Quincey double-parked in front of their apartment complex and walked around to Tora’s side of the car, opening the door so he tumbled out of the car onto the pavement with a groan. He smiled as Tora moaned in pain. This was payback for all the times Tora had ruined Quincey’s fun because it was “too dangerous”.

“Whoops.” Quincey shrugged when Tora looked up to glare at him. Quincey almost felt guilty when he saw Tora now had a bleeding cut on his forehead, but then he remembered he could be getting railed by his date right now and that quickly faded. 

“The fuck?” Tora growled. His eyes were bleary while the looked around them. “Where are we?”

“We’re at your apartment.” Quincey took one of Tora’s arms and started to pull him up. “Come on, idiot. I’m not carrying you up all those stairs.” He slung Tora’s arm around his shoulders and started to guide him towards the building. 

“No.” Tora pulled back, but the force of pulling back caused him to stumble and fall into the car. Quincey winced at thought of the dent that was probably in his door now. “Take me back to your place.”

“Hell no!” Quincey frowned. “You ruined my date, and there’s a slim chance I can still invite him over. I won’t have you cock-blocking me.”

“I’m not going in there.” Tora frowned. Quincey noticed something flash in his eyes. This wasn’t Tora being a stubborn ass like normal. He didn’t want to see Poppy, but why? Those two were sickeningly happy together. They had the kind of domestic bliss that made Quincey’s stomach churn. 

“What, Big Bad Tiger of Ares Street is scared of his wife?” Quincey taunted. If he wanted to get some answers, it was better to make him angry. “I’m sure the boys would _love_ to hear that. Big bro can’t go into his own apartment because his wife is mad at him.”

“I can go in if I want.” Tora protested. “But I don’t want to.”

“Well you’re not coming back to my apartment.” Quincey frowned. “So we’re going upstairs.” 

“Fuck no!” 

“I will knock you out and drag you up those stairs if you don’t go willingly.” He threatened. 

“I’d like to see you try, Quincey boy.” Tora slurred. “You can’t take me even when I’m drunk.”

“Wanna bet?” Quincey charged forward before Tora could react with his inhibited reflexes and swept one of his legs, causing Tora to land hard on his ass on the pavement. He grinned as Tora looked up at him again with a glare. “Looks like I can. Now get up, we’re going inside.”

Tora looked up at the apartment complex for several moments before holding out his ar, to Quincey, finally giving in. Quincey walked forward and helped Tora onto his feet before slinging an arm over his shoulders to support him. “Come on, I want to find out why Poppy is mad at you.”

“Fuck you.” Tora growled. “Stay out of my personal life.”

“You dragged me into it when you drank yourself shitless and forced me to come pick you up.” Quincey argued, walking slowly up the stairs as Tora plodded along like a child. When they finally made to their floor, Tora heaved and bent forward, putting his head between his knees.

“Fuck, I’m going to be sick.” He moaned. 

“Don’t you dare puke on me! Hold it in until we get inside!” Quincey yelled. He pulled Tora quickly to his apartment door and tried the handle. Surprisingly, it swung open and the two men stumbled into the apartment. All the lights were off, except for a solitary lamp by the couch. Poppy sat with their back to them, not turning to look at their very loud grand entrance. Even this far away, Quincey could see she had been crying. 

Before he could ask what was going on, Tora started dry-heaving, causing Quincey to help him maneuver past their mongrel who had decided to be underfoot at the exact wrong time just in time for Tora to puke into the toilet of their small bathroom. Quincey closed the door before the dog could join them and helped Tora tie his hair back. He hopped up on their small counter, pulling out a nail file to pass the time while his friend threw up everything but his memories. 

“Here’s what I don’t understand.” Quincey started.

“I don’t want to hear it, Quincey.” Tora’s voice echoed in the toilet bowl. 

Quincey ignored him and began pushing back the cuticles on his thumbs. “You go out drinking, which you never do, Poppy is sitting at home crying, and you’re terrified of going back into your apartment when this morning you wouldn’t shut up about going home and checking on her. Now call me crazy, but it seems like you did something to make her mad and you went out for the classic drink to forget.” 

“Shut up.” More retching.

“So what did you do?” Quincey continued. “Never mind, let me guess. This will be more fun.”

“Quincey.”

“You ate the last of her leftovers? Or maybe you two got into a fight over who loved the other more? She got tired of you ordering take out all the time? Ignored her while you were playing video games and she wanted to have sex?”

“Fuck off.”

“No, wait! She finally realized I’m the better man and wants to leave you for me.” Quincey grinned at his friend when Tora pulled his head from the toilet to look at him. “I knew she would eventually come around.”

“Would you get the fuck out of my face?” Tora ducked his head down to empty more of his stomach contents. 

“Don’t tell me.” Quincey passed the file several times over his pinky, trying to get the shape right. “You left the toilet seat up and that was the final straw.”

“Poppy’s pregnant.”

Quincey stopped his filing and turned to look at Tora. “What?”

“She’s pregnant.” Tora pushed back from the toilet to rest against the side of the tub. “She told me at dinner.”

Quincey studied him closely. Instead of looking happy, Tora’s face was etched with dread. He knew the last time Poppy had been pregnant, she lost the baby early on, but not before they had told a few of their friends and family. Poppy was optimistic they would be able to get pregnant again, but Tora had been more cautious. She had complications after the miscarriage that caused Tora to disappear for a few weeks and made Poppy missed work for almost two months. Tora refused to speak about it, and Poppy had brushed it off with her normal cheeriness. Whatever had happened, it was bad, and both were tight-lipped.

* * *

“Why do you look like someone died?” Quincey frowned. “That’s great news. You said you and Poppy had been trying.”

“Because _she_ almost died last time, Quince.” Tora snapped. “When she lost the baby she got some infection that made her septic. The doctor said if it happens again she might not survive.”

The words hung between them like a guillotine. Tora put his head between his knees, breathing deeply while Quincey tried to process what he had just said. Quincey had figured Poppy and Tora had taken all that time off to grieve and he had left them alone, partly to give them space and also from his own self-centeredness while focusing on his own life and “problems”, which now seemed small compared to what they had gone through. How could he have not noticed? 

“So what happened? When she told you?” He asked quietly. 

Tora rubbed his hands over his face roughly. “I got mad. I didn’t even think about the baby, all I saw was her in that fucking hospital bed again. Then she started crying, and we started yelling at each other, so I left.”

“So do you not want the baby?”

“What?” Tora’s eyes hardened as he looked at Quincey. “Of course I do, what the fuck are you saying?”

“Then why did you get mad at her?” Quincey pressed. “It takes two to tango. She didn’t get pregnant by herself.”

Tora shrugged. “I don’t know. I fucked up and took it out on her. We agreed not to start trying again for another year, but she’s fucking pregnant four months later because I wasn’t careful. If she dies, it’s my fault.”

“That’s not going to happen, Tora. If anything, the doctors are going to be twice as vigilant because of what happened.”

“How do you know?”

“If they’re not, they know her gangster husband will kill them with his bare hands.” Quincey shrugged. “And I’m sure I could put them on a hit list.”

Tora let out a humorless laugh and rested his head against the edge of the tub. “I can’t lose her, Quincey.” He whispered.

* * *

Before Quincey could respond, a quiet knock sounded on the door to the bathroom. He jumped off the counter and opened it to reveal Poppy, holding a wet kitchen towel. She was no longer crying, but her eyes were still red. How much of their conversation had she heard? The walls in their apartment weren’t thick by any means, but they hadn’t been screaming as they conversed. Maybe she needed to hear some of it. Tora certainly wasn’t going to willingly open up about something so vulnerable especially while shit-faced, eavesdropping might be the only way right now for Poppy to know what was on her husband’s mind. 

Quincey looked down and noticed the smallest bump on her abdomen. They had been working together almost every day for a month on his newest manuscript, and he hadn’t noticed. He knew Tora was thick-headed, but Quincey paid attention to details. How did he miss that?

“Can I come in?” She asked. Quincey nodded and stepped aside. Poppy edged past him and bent down to grab the first-aid kit below the sink. Tora sat up straighter as Poppy sat next to him, watching her closely as she started to dab at the wound on his forehead with the towel she had brought. 

“You smell like a bar.” Poppy told him. 

Tora nodded and leaned into her touch. “What’d I say about locking the door?”

“You forgot your keys. If I went to bed I wasn’t going to get up just to open it for you.” She smiled. Tora rolled his eyes but gave her a drunk smile in return. Quincey might need to barf now. They were nauseating. 

“Well, now that it looks like you two have made up, I’m going to go home.” Quincey walked out of the bathroom and waved over his shoulder. “Don’t call me. If all goes well, you two won’t be the only ones having make-up sex tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This was so much fun!


End file.
